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A Method to Assess Fc-mediated Effector Functions Induced by Influenza Hemagglutinin Specific Antibodies
Published on: February 23, 2018
Autologous red cell agglutination test for antibodies to feline immunodeficiency virus
K M Wilson1, W F Robinson, K I Mitchelhill
1St. Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, Fitzroy, Vic., Australia.
Insights
A new rapid test detects feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) antibodies in cat blood using a peptide-conjugated reagent. This agglutination test offers comparable performance to existing enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) and may work for various FIV strains.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Virology
- Immunology
- Diagnostic Assays
Background:
- Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a significant global pathogen in domestic cats.
- Current diagnostic methods for FIV include enzyme immunoassays (EIAs).
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a rapid, simple, and effective diagnostic test for FIV antibodies.
- To evaluate the performance of a novel peptide-based agglutination assay.
Main Methods:
- A synthetic peptide analog of the FIV gp40 transmembrane glycoprotein epitope was synthesized.
- The peptide was conjugated to an anti-feline erythrocyte antibody via a thio-ether linkage.
- The reagent was tested for its ability to agglutinate red blood cells in the presence of FIV antibodies in whole blood.
Main Results:
- The developed test rapidly agglutinated red blood cells within 3 minutes when FIV antibodies were present.
- Test performance was comparable to commercially available EIAs and a peptide-based EIA.
- A variant peptide showed similar reactivity, suggesting applicability to different FIV strains.
Conclusions:
- A novel, rapid red blood cell agglutination test for FIV antibodies has been successfully developed.
- This peptide-based assay demonstrates comparable efficacy to existing EIA methods.
- The test's potential applicability across different FIV strains warrants further investigation.
Abstract:
The T-lymphotropic lentivirus, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is now recognised as a major viral pathogen affecting domestic cat populations worldwide. A rapid, autologous red cell agglutination test for antibodies to FIV has been developed. A synthetic peptide analog corresponding to the immunodominant epitope within the FIV transmembrane glycoprotein gp40 residues (680-715) KVEAMEKFLYTAFAMQELGC (Acm)NQNQFFK(BrAc)KIPLELWTR was conjugated to an anti-feline erythrocyte antibody using a thio-ether linkage. Within 3 min of adding this reagent to 20 microliters of whole blood, circulating antibody to the peptide epitope caused agglutination of the red blood cells. The performance of this simple test is comparable with the two commercially available enzyme immunoassay (EIA) kits and an EIA based on this peptide. A variant of the gp40 (680-715) peptide corresponding to the FIV, PPR strain gp40 (678-716) sequence was also synthesised and no difference in reactivity was observed in an EIA on 211 seropositive samples, indicating that the peptide-based test may be applicable to other known strains of the virus.
